ALBANY — Everything seemed primed on Wednesday for the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, to receive its new chief judge. There were words of praise for the nominee, Janet DiFiore, and a unanimous vote of approval from the State Senate Judiciary Committee.

After a weeklong break, the Legislature was back in session, and Ms. DiFiore, the Westchester County district attorney, had brought her husband and most of her family, too, for what many assumed would be an easy confirmation.

The Republican-controlled Senate met from 3:47 to 3:53 p.m. and then adjourned without considering Ms. DiFiore’s confirmation.

The Court of Appeals was left once again with only five of its usual seven judges. But the Senate’s six-minute session earned its members a $174 per diem.

Republicans attributed the delay in the confirmation to scheduling issues, and announced late on Wednesday afternoon that a vote on Ms. DiFiore’s nomination would take place on Thursday.

Still, the timing and political backdrop of the delay was curious. Republicans in Albany have been irritated by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s repeated nominations of his fellow Democrats to the court, including Ms. DiFiore, a former Republican who switched parties nearly a decade ago in Westchester. Nominations to the top court have dragged on past legal deadlines on several occasions, including Ms. DiFiore’s, which was supposed to have been voted on by the end of 2015, when former Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman retired.

Just two minutes after the Senate adjourned without a vote on Ms. DiFiore, the governor’s office announced the nomination to the Court of Appeals of Michael J. Garcia, a Republican who previously served as a United States attorney for the Southern District of New York under President George W. Bush. Mr. Garcia would replace Judge Susan Phillips Read, a Republican who stepped down in August.

The Court of Appeals met for two weeks earlier this month, but the lack of two judges has already had an effect: Gary Spencer, a court spokesman, said there were some appeals that could not be argued because recusals had made a five-person quorum impossible. Two appeals were removed from the January calendar, Mr. Spencer said, and 29 others cannot be put on a judicial calendar “until we have more judges.”

One case that has already been argued will need to be reheard after the five sitting judges were unable to come to a four-person consensus, a requirement for any decision.

A spokesman for Ms. DiFiore, Lucian Chalfen, declined to comment on the day’s events.

The delay did not seem related to Ms. DiFiore’s qualifications or reception in Albany. During the hearing, the Judiciary Committee was generally welcoming, with its chairman, Senator John J. Bonacic, a Hudson Valley Republican, calling her an “impressive judicial nominee with extensive experience in criminal justice.”

During the committee hearing, the senators quizzed her on issues as broad as her judicial philosophy (she did not consider herself a judicial activist, she said) and as specific as her views on gun rights (Ms. DiFiore, a gun owner, has a permit to carry a concealed gun) and bail reform (she said she would support some changes to the system).

A recurring question concerned whether she would be able to maintain independence from the governor: As Westchester residents, she and Mr. Cuomo have had a longstanding relationship, and he has appointed her to multiple government commissions.

“I understand that my role is to make certain that each and every case that comes before me is decided on the merits, without regard to outside forces,” she told Mr. Bonacic. “You have my word on that.”

For veterans of the upper chamber, the maneuvers seemed both peculiar and par for the course.

“I would hope that politics did not unduly delay the appointment of our chief judge considering the deadline to confirm her was last month,” said Senator Michael Gianaris, a Democrat from Queens who serves as deputy minority leader. “But nothing would surprise me.”

A version of this article appears in print on , Section A, Page 24 of the New York edition with the headline: Panel Backs Cuomo’s Pick for Chief Judge; Full Senate Is Set to Vote. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe